Corner roller for embedding tape in mastic

ABSTRACT

A corner roller for embedding the tape into the mastic at the corner of a room. The mastic and tape have previously been applied to the corner joint of a room and then my present corner roller is used for embedding the tape into the mastic preparatory to covering the tape with a finishing coat of mastic. The present corner roller for tape, in addition to the two pairs of rollers for embedding the tape in the mastic, also has a corner tape creasing wheel mounted at each end of the tool for perfecting the right angle crease in the tape as the tool is moved along the tape and for preventing the tape from yawing out of the room corner. Each roller in each pair of rollers has its axis extending at right angles to the axis of the other roller in the same pair and these axes parallel the surfaces of the tape over which the rollers are moved so that the rollers will uniformly press against the tape surfaces for embedding the tape in the mastic. The device has a face plate with two wings that extend at right angles to each other and the outer edges of the wings have longitudinally extending flanges extending beyond the adjacent surfaces of the wings for retaining any excess mastic squeezed out from under the tape during the movement of the tool along the tape.

United States Patent [191 Ames [ Dec. 9, 1975 CORNER ROLLER FOR EMBEDDING TAPE IN MASTIC [75] Inventor: Robert G. Ames, l-lillsborough,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Ulysses Stanley Ames, San Carlos,

Calif. a part interest 22 Filed: Jan. 31, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 438,182

[52] 11.8. C1 156/579; 156/582 [51] Int. Cl. B32B 31/20; B32B 35/00 [58] Field of Search 156/349, 582, 574, 579,

Primary Examiner-Douglas J. Drummond Assistant ExaminerM. G. Wityshyn Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William R. Piper [57] ABSTRACT A corner roller for embedding the tape into the mastic at the corner of a room. The mastic and tape have previously been applied to the corner joint of a room and then my present corner roller is used for embedding the tape into the mastic preparatory to covering the tape with a finishing coat of mastic. The present corner roller for tape, in addition to the two pairs of rollers for embedding the tape: in the mastic, also has a corner tape creasing wheel mounted at each end of the tool for perfecting the right angle crease in the tape as the tool is moved along the tape and for pre venting the tape from yawing out of the room corner. Each roller in each pair of rollers has its axis extending at right angles to the axis of the other roller in the same pair and these axes parallel the surfaces of the tape over which the rollers are: moved so that the rollers will uniformly press against the tape surfaces for embedding the tape in the mastic. The device has a face plate with two wings that extend at right angles to each other and the outer edges of the wings have longitudinally extending flanges extending beyond the adjacent surfaces of the wings for retaining any excess mastic squeezed out from under the tape during the movement of the tool along the tape.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 9, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,925,145

Dec. 9, 1975 Sheet 2 of 2 3,925,145

US. Patent CORNER ROLLER FOR EMBEDDING TAPE IN MASTIC BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Background of the Invention Wallboards are being extensively used for completing the interior finish of a room and the joints between adjacent sections of wallboard are covered by a layer of mastic which in turn is covered with tape and then the tape is covered with an outer layer of mastic whose side edges are feathered into the wallboard surface. Where a wallboard corner joint is to be covered an automatic taper is used that has a tape creasing member which can be swung into operative position for forcing the mastic and tape into the corner, the creasing member folding the tape along its medial portion to form two flaps that extend at right angles to each other, these flaps overlying the wallboard portions adjacent to the corner. The present tape roller is used for flattening out any uneven surfaces in the two flaps of the tape and the corner creasing wheels that are mounted at each end of the tool will not only force the crease in the tape into the corner joint but will also prevent the tape from yawing out of the corner joint. The tool has a pair of wings extending at right angles to each other and the outer edges of the wings have longitudinal flanges which will retain any excess mastic that is forced out from under the tape.

2. Description of the Prior Art The patent to Robert G. Ames, US. Pat. No. 2,533,209, issued Dec. l2, I950, on a finishing tool for corner tape, discloses a body with two face plates extending at right angles to each other and having compartments therein for receiving pairs of rollers. The rollers in each compartment extend at right angles to each other and the axis of one roller parallels the plane of its associate face plate while the axis of the other roller parallels the plane of the other face plate. The outer cylindrical surface of each roller has a portion projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of the associate face plate so that the roller will contact the type over which it rides during the operation of the tool for embedding the tape in the mastic and for smoothing out any uneven surfaces in the tape.

The patented tool does not have a longitudinally extending flange arranged at the outer edge of each face plate for retaining the excess mastic on the face plate and on the wall board adjacent to the tape edge SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of my invention is to provide a corner roller for embedding tape in mastic in which the tool body has two wings that extend at right angles to each other and the outer edges of these wings have longitudinally extending and integral flanges that project above the adjacent surfaces of the wings for retaining on the wall adjacent to the tape edge any mastic that is squeezed out from under the tape during the use of the tool-In addition, I provide the tool body with a double bevelled Wheel at each end of the body for pressing against the medial crease in the tape for preventing the yawing of the tape out of the room corner while the tool is operated to embed the tape in the mastic. The handle for the tool has a double swivel connection with the tool body and an opening is provided in the tool body adjacent to the connection of the handle with the body for the purpose of eliminating any pocket that might hold Water that is picked up while the tool is resting in a bucket of water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the tool, the handle not being shown.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1 and illustrates the normal position the handle assumes with respect to the tool body.

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken along the line 3-3 of FIGLI, and illustrates one of the compartments in the tool body that receives a pair of tape pressing rollers, each roller in the pair extending at right angles to the other.

FIG. 4 is another transverse section through the tool body and is taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1, and illustrates the double swivel connection between' the handle and the tool body.

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4 and further illustrates the double swivel connection between the handle and the tool body. Also the opening in the tool body adjacent to the double swivel is shown for permitting the drainage of any water accumulated by the body while at rest in a bucket of water.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In carrying out my invention I provide a tool body indicated generally at A in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive. FIG.

that is forced out from under the tape during the operation of the tool. The present invention is for a corner roller for embedding tape in mastic that has longitudinally extending flanges positioned along the outer edges of the two wings of the tool body for retaining any excess mastic squeezed out from under the tape while the tool is being operated. These flanges will prevent the squeezed out mastic from dropping onto the floor and messing up the wall.

The patented tool also does not have a corner tape creasing wheel, one being disposed at each end of the tool. In the present invention the tool body is provided with a corner tape creasing wheel at each end of the body and each wheel has a double bevelled rim whose periphery lies tangent to an imaginery line that also coincides with the vertex formed at the juncture. of the faces of the two body wings.

4 illustrates that the tool body A has two wings B and C that extend at right angles to each other. The body has a substantially triangularly shaped top 1 and a similarly shaped bottom 2, see FIGS. 1 and 2. The two wings B and C form a right angle at their juncture and this vertex is indicated at 3 in FIG. 1.

The tool body A is provided with two compartments D and E, each one receiving a pair of rollers F and G, see FIGS. 1 and 3. Since eachone of the rollers is identical to the others, a detailed description of the roller F, shown in longitudinal section in FIG. 1, will the stud 6 contacts the outer end of the reduced portion of the bearing H so as to secure the bearing in place. The length of the bore in the hub 4 is slightly less than the length of the reduced portion 5 of the hub H, and this will prevent any binding action on the hub 4. Therefore the roller F is free to rotate on the reduced bearing portion 5 and it will have a loose connection with the bearing for permitting the roller to assume slightly angular positions with respect to the axis of the stud 6. In this way the roller periphery can contact the portion of the tape lying adjacent thereto and uniformly press thereagainst during the operation of the tool for embedding the tape in the mastic even though the corner joint may not be precisely a right angle formed between the adjacent wallboard sections. I do not wish to be confined to this specific loose mounting of the roller F in the tool A because other types ofloose mountings for the roller might be used.

At each end of the tool body A, I mount a double bevelled tape creasing and tool guiding wheel J, see

FIGS. I and 2. Again, since both wheels J are identical, 1

a detailed description of one with its mounting will suffice for both and like reference numerals will be applied to similar parts. The body A has integral arms 9 and 10 that project above the top 1 and are spaced apart so as to receive the double bevelled wheel J. An axle 11 supports the wheel .I and has its ends received in aligned openings provided in the two arms 9 and 10. The bevelled edges 12 of both wheels I are mounted between the arms 9 and 10 so that edges 12 will lie tangent to an extended imaginary line that substantially coincides with the vertex 3 formed by the juncture of the wing B with the wing C. Because of this particular mounting of the double bevelled wheels J at the ends 1 and 2 of the tool body A, the movement of the tool along the tape in a manner hereinafter described will cause the bevelled wheels to bear against the median crease in the tape and will force the tape into the cor ner of the room to aid in embedding the tape in the layer of mastic and will also prevent the yawing of the tape out of the room corner during the tape embedding operation.

It should be noted at this time that the two wings B and C of the tool body A, each is provided with an integral flange at the outer edge of the wing, the flange extending the full length of the wing and projecting beyond the adjacent surface of the wing. FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the wing B as having an integral flange l3 and the wing C as having an integral flange 14. The purposes for these flanges is to cause the adjacent surfaces of the wings B and C to retain any excess mastic squeezed out from under the tape during the operation of the tool.

The particular double swivel connection of a tool handle K to the tool body A is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The lower wall 15 of the upper compartment D, see FIG. 5, and the upper wall 16 of the lower compartment E, parallel each other and support a pin 17 whose axis parallels the vertex 3 formed in the body A by the juncture of the wing B with the wing C. A hinge plate L has an integral cylindrical sleeve 18 that is free to swing about the pivot pin 17. The length of the sleeve 18 equals the distance between the adjacent surfaces of the walls 15 and 16, as shown in FIG. 5. A disc 19 is rotatably secured to the hinge plate L by a bolt'20 whose axis extends at right angles to the axis of the pivot pin 17 for the hinge plate L, see FIG. 4. A rod 21 is secured to the periphery of the disc 19 and extends radially therefrom. The handle K is secured to the rod 21. It will be seen from this structure that the handle K has practically a universal connection with the tool body A because the disc 19 permits the handle to swing in one plane and the pivot pin 17 permits the handle, disc 20 and hinge plate L, to swing in a plane that extends at right angles to the plane through which the handle can swing about the bolt 20. It should be understood that I have shown one type of double swivel mechanism for connecting the handle K to the tool body A. Other types might be used.

Before describing the operation of the tool it is best to refer to the opening in the tool body A, shown at 22 in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. This elongated opening lies between the walls 15 and 16, see especially FIG. 5, and is disposed adjacent to the sleeve 18 of the hingeplate L. This opening in the tool body is important because it eliminates a pocket, formedbetween the walls 15 and 16, that would retain water and would spill down upon the operator during the use of the tool.

OPERATION From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. In FIG. 4, I show in horizontal section, two pieces of wallboard M and N, and they form a right angle corner for a room. The wallboard M has a recess 23, near the edge of the wallboard for receiving mastic and likewise the wallboard N has a recess 24 near its edge for receiving mastic. These recesses 23 and 24 may be of any shape desired.

A tool, not shown, has already applied a layer of mastic 25 and a covering tape P to the right angle corner, see FIG. 4, and the mastic fills the recesses 23 and 24 in the wallboard pieces M and N, respectively, and is covered by the tape P. The tape has been creased along its median line as the tape with its layer of mastic is applied to conceal the joint in the room corner.

The operator now uses my corner roller for embedding the tape P in the layer of mastic 25 and to smooth out any irregularities in the surface of the tape. He grasps the handle K and forces the tool body A against the tape being careful to place the elongated vertex 3 of the tool and the double bevelled wheels J, so that they will bear against the median crease in the tape. The rollers F will contact with the adjacent surface of one side portion extending from the median crease in the tape, see FIG. 4, while the rollers G will contact with the adjacent surface of the other side portion extending from the same median crease in the tape. The operator presses against the handle K while moving the tool along the tape with sufficient pressure to embed the tape in the mastic and to smooth out any uneven surfaces in the tape. Also, any excess mastic will be squeezed out from under the tape and will adhere to the adjacent wallboard and be in a position to be plowed back over the tape with an angle finisher. This excess mastic is indicated at 26 and will have a tendency to slide off from the lateral edges of the wings as more excess mastic is forced out from under the tape. To prevent this excess mastic 26 from dropping onto the floor or onto the operator while the tool is being used, I have provided the tool wings B and C with the side flanges 13 and 14, respectively, which will prevent the'mastic from dropping off from the wings. As the mastic is confined to the wall in the pattern of a bead beyond the edge of the tape, it is easy for the corner finisher to plow the excess mastic back over the tape to present a finished corner.

I claim:

A corner roller for embedding tape in a room outer surfaces extend substantially at right angles to each other;

b. said body having a pair of compartments, both being spaced from one another and extending into the areas of both wing outer surfaces and straddling the junction of said outer surfaces;

. a pair of rollers mounted in each compartment, the

axis of one roller in each pair paralleling the outer surface of one wing with the cylindrical peripheries of these rollers projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of said adjacent outer surface and the axis of the other roller in each pair paralleling the outer surface of the other wing with the cylindrical peripheries of these last named rollers projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of the adjacent outer surface of the other wing, the peripheral portions of said rollers that project beyond the outer surfaces of both wings being adapted to contact with the tape for embedding it in the mastic as the tool is moved over the tape; and

. a double bevelled tape creasing and guiding wheel mounted at each end of said tool body and having its periphery lying substantially tangent to a line that coincides with the juncture line formed by the outer surfaces of the two wings whose outer surfaces extend substantially at right angles to each other.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. the outer edges of said wings are provided with 3. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. the outer ends of one pair of rollers whose axes lie in a plane paralleling the outer surface of one of said wings being spaced from a plane that lies tangent to the peripheries of the second pair of rollers; and

b. the outer ends of said second pair of rollers whose axes lie in a second plane that parallels the outer surface of the other wing being spaced from a third plane that lies tangent to the peripheries of the first mentioned pair of rollers;

whereby the outer ends of both pairs of rollers will not touch the adjacent portions of the tape being embedded in the mastic and, therefore none of the rollers will contact with the median crease in the tape, said double bevelled tape creasing wheels contacting the median crease portion of the tape for embedding this portion in the mastic as well as the wheels guiding the tool along the tape.

4. A corner roller for embedding tape in a room corner where the mastic and tape have already been applied to cover the corner joint and comprising:

a. a tool body having a pair of integral wings whose outer surfaces extend substantially at right angles to each other to form a vertex at theirjuncture that extends throughout the length of said body except for the break caused by one or more compartments that extend into the areas of both wings;

b. said body having at least one compartment that extends into the areas of both wing outer surfaces and straddles the junction of said outer surfaces;

. a pair of rollers mounted in said compartment, the

axis of one roller paralleling the outer surface of one wing with the cylindrical periphery of this roller projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of said adjacent outer surface and the axis of the other roller paralleling the outer surface of the other wing with the cylindrical periphery of said other roller projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of its adjacent outer surface of said other wing; and

d, the outer edges of said wings being provided with 5. The combination as set forth in claim 4: and in which a. said body has at least a second compartment that is spaced from the first mentioned compartment, said second compartment extending into the areas of both wing outer surfaces and straddles thejuncture of said outer surfaces;

b. a second pair of rollers mounted in said second compartment in exactly the same manner as the first mentioned rollers are mounted in the first mentioned compartment so as to operate in the same manner as the first mentioned rollers; and

c. the outer surfaces of said wings having portions extending laterally beyond said compartments and said flanges for both wings extending substantially the entire lengths of said wings. 

1. A CORNER ROLLER FOR EMBEDDING TAPE IN A ROOM CORNER WHERE THE MASTIC AND TAPE HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPLIED TO COVER THE CORNER JOINT AND COMPRISING: A. A TOOL BODY HAVING A PAIR OF INTEGRAL WINGS WHOSE OUTER SURFACES EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER; B.SAID BODY HAVING A PAIR OF COMPARTMENTS, BOTH BEING SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER AND EXTENDING INTO THE AREAS OF BOTH WING OUTER SURFACES AND STRADDING THE JUNCTION OF SAID OUTER SURFACES; C. A PAIR OF ROLERS MOUNTED IN EACH COMPARTMENT, THE AXIS OF ONE ROLLER IN EACH PAIR PARALLELING THE OUTER SURFACE OF ONE WING WITH THE CYLINDRICAL PERIPHERIES OF THESE ROLLERS PROJECTING A SLIGHT DISTANCE BEYOND THE PLANE OF SAID ADJACENT OUTER SURFACE AND THE AXIS OF THE OTHER ROLLER IN EACH PAIR PARALLELING THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE OTHER WING WITH THE CYLINDRICAL PERIPHERIES OF THESE LAST NAMED ROLLERS PROJECTING A SLIGHT DISTANCE BEYOND THE PLANE OF THE ADJACENT OUTER SURFACE OF THE OTHER WING, THE PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF SAID ROLLERS THAT PROJECT BEYOND THE OUTER SURFACES OF BOTH WINGS BEING ADAPTED TO CONTACT WITH THE TAPE FOR EMBEDDING IT IN THE MASTIC AS THE TOOL IS MOVED OVER THE TAPE; AND D. A DOUBLE BEVELLED TAPE CREASING AND GUIDING WHEEL MOUNTED AT EACH END OF SAID TOOL BODY AND HAVING ITS PERIPHERY LYING SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO A LINE THAT COINCIDES WITH THE JUNCTURE LINE FORMED BY THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE TWO WINGSWHOSE OUTER SURFACES EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. the outer edges of said wings are provided with mastic retaining flanges that project beyond the adjacent outer surfaces of said wings for retaining any mastic on these outer surfaces that they have received from the excess mastic that the rollers have squeezed out from under the tape during the movement of the tool body along the tape.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. the outer ends of one pair of rollers whose axes lie in a plane paralleling the outer surface of one of said wings being spaced from a plane that lies tangent to the peripheries of the second pair of rollers; and b. the outer ends of said second pair of rollers whose axes lie in a second plane that parallels the outer surface of the other wing being spaced from a third plane that lies tangent to the peripheries of the first mentioned pair of rollers; c. whereby the outer ends of both pairs of rollers will not touch the adjacent portions of the tape being embedded in the mastic and, therefore none of the rollers will contact with the median crease in the tape, said double bevelled tape creasing wheels contacting the median crease portion of the tape for embedding this portion in the mastic as well as the wheels guiding the tool along the tape.
 4. A corner roller for embedding tape in a room corner where the mastic and tape have already been applied to cover the corner joint and comprising: a. a tool body having a pair of integral wings whose outer surfaces extend substantially at right angles to each other to form a vertex at their juncture that extends throughout the length of said body except for the break caused by one or more compartments that extend into the areas of both wings; b. said body having at least one compartment that extends into the areas of both wing outer surfaces and straddles the junction of said outer surfaces; c. a pair of rollers mounted in said compartment, the axis of one roller paralleling the outer surface of one wing with the cylindrical periphery of this roller projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of said adjacent outer surface and the axis of the other roller paralleling the outer surface of the other wing with the cylindrical periphery of said other roller projecting a slight distance beyond the plane of its adjacent outer surface of said other wing; and d. the outer edges of said wings being provided with mastic retaining flanges that extend the full length of the wings and project beyond the adjacent surfaces of the wings for retaining any mastic that these outer surfaces might receive, the peripheral portions of said rollers that project beyond the adjacent outer surfaces of said wings being adapted to contact with the tape for embedding it in the mastic as the tool is moved over the tape, these rollers smoothing the tape where necessary and squeezing out any excess mastic from under the tape.
 5. The combination as set forth in claim 4: and in which a. said body has at least a second compartment that is spaced from the first mentioned compartment, said second compartment extending into the areas of both wing outer surfaces and straddles the juncture of said outer surfaces; b. a second pair of rollers mounted in said second compartment in exactly the same manner as the first mentioned rollers are mounted in the first mentioned compartment so as to operate in the same manner as the first mentioned rollers; and c. the outer surfaces of said wings having portions extending laterally beyond said compartments and said flanges for both wings extending substantially the entire lengths of said wings. 